Playing House
by BluCrayonsRTasty
Summary: Something's gone terribly wrong and Mike and his girlfriend are left to clean up the mess.
1. Storms

A/N 1 - This story is dedicated to DragonsRMe who inspired the idea :-) Thank you!

A/N 2 - Huge shout out to my beta saiken2009! Love you girly. I couldn't do it without you!

* * *

It was a stormy morning at 1334 North Beechwood Drive. Peter was plucking absently at his bass, while Davy peered out the window hoping the rain would let up soon; he had wanted to take his latest love interest out for dinner later that evening. Mike was strumming his latest idea for his girlfriend, Melanie. Micky was in the upstairs bedroom they all shared; being suspiciously quiet.

Unbeknownst to his friends below, Micky was working on a new project. Not a song or anything like that, but a time travel device. He was certain if he could just get the wavelengths of the electronic oven to the right frequency it would create a small tear in the space time continuum. He'd been working on this for the past month and had somehow not tipped off his bandmates yet. Micky was finally ready; _it's gonna work, I just know it is._

Micky kissed the power cord before plugging it into the outlet. Immediately he was thrown backwards as the circuit breaker blew. Unfortunately for him, along with taking out every light in the house, the backfeed of power produced a small explosion. Micky knew the soundwave it produced could probably be heard for about four city blocks, meaning the four people downstairs heard it loud and clear and would know that it was him. _Damn!_

Downstairs the guys and Melanie were quite confused, and a little bit deafened, by the loud bang and subsequent blackout. "Micky!" Mike yelled up the stairs, "what did you do now?"

"N-n-nothing Mike," Micky stammered, but as he heard the footsteps racing up the stairs he knew he was caught.

"If it's nothing," Mike chided, "then what in the hell is that contraption behind you? And why do you look like you just put your finger in the light socket?"

"Umm, well, you see, it's because," Micky fumbled his words trying to come up with an excuse that would get him out of the hot seat. He finally decided it would be best to tell the truth; he hated lying to his friends, and besides that Mike always knew when he was lying. "This 'contraption', as you so rudely call it, is my first attempt at a time machine. I've almost got it figured out. I just need to adjust the wavelengths a little bit more."

"Oh," Davy gulped, "Micky, do you really think you should be messing around with something like this? You could seriously hurt someone!" He looked up at Mike, hoping for some back up, "He's crazy, he is, messing with stuff like that. He could rewrite history!"

"Calm down, Davy, he can't rewrite history unless he gets this crazy thing to work," Mike said trying his best to set Davy's mind at ease, but he still needed to make his point clear to Micky. "Based on his track record I don't think we need to be worried about that. That being said, Micky, are you insane? You can't just build a time machine in our bedroom; you're liable to blow the whole house up!" From behind him Mike heard a small whimper. When he spun around he saw Peter looking around nervously as if there was someone threatening their lives. "Now look what you've gone and done. You scared Pete!"

"I'm sorry, Pete," Micky said feeling terrible, "I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to see if I could do it. I promise, I'll cool it."

"Thanks Micky," Peter smiled, "I don't think you should be messing with space and time that way. You could make an awful big mess of things. I don't want to know what could happen. You could bring dinosaurs back here" He shuddered at the thought and Melanie hugged him; reminding him that Mike would handle it and everything would be ok.

"I give you my word," Micky boasted, "I swear that I will stop messing around." His three bandmates and Melanie breathed a collective sigh of relief. What that didn't see was that Micky had his fingers crossed behind his back. He had no intention of giving up when he was so close.

The 5 friends walked back down the stairs together. Peter and Micky carried the contraption downstairs to make it easier to dispose of later. Mike threw the switch on the circuit breaker and the lights came back on revealing Micky's crazy design.

"So that's where the electronic oven went!" Davy exclaimed, "I've been looking for it since yesterday! I wanted to heat up the tea I made!"

Mike shook his head, exasperated with the whole thing. Melanie had been quiet this entire time and he wanted to make sure she was ok. She still wasn't used to the shenanigans the boys faced on a daily basis.

"Well it looks like the rain is finally clearing up; Melanie and I are going for a walk on the beach. Micky, I want that disaster cleaned up by the time we get back. You've got about an hour. Got it?"

"I hear you loud and clear, Admiral Mike, it will be done!" Micky made the most innocent face he could muster, but of course it still had a glimmer of crazy behind it.

"Good," yawned Davy, "I'm going up to take a nap; much too much excitement for me this early."

"I'll be playing my acoustic upstairs if you need me, Micky." Peter smiled before following Davy up the spiral staircase.

"Thanks man, I think I'll be ok though," Micky replied.

With that Mike led Melanie out the door and gave Micky one last stern look before disappearing. Once they made it down the steps he took her hand and led her away from the craziness. As they walked he reflected on their relationship so far.

Mike met Melanie one night after playing a gig at the Whisky a Go Go. He first noticed her eyes: they were dark brown and absolutely stunning. They were complemented by her pale, alabaster skin and dark brown hair. They hit it off well, though both were shy at first, and developed a strong relationship. Now, a little more than a year after their first encounter, they stepped out onto the beach to enjoy the sunshine together.

"You ok?" Mike asked. "I know you aren't used to Micky's crazy experiments and all the weird adventures that seem to fall into our laps. I promise there's nothing to worry about."

"Don't worry, Mike, I'm fine." Melanie smiled up at him. "I think it's cute; besides Micky agreed to cool it so everything should be fine. I just hate to see Peter cry. He's such a sweet person."

"I know babe, I know," he kissed her and started out down the beach. They walked hand in hand down a ways away from the Pad and the stress of everyday life, at least for the moment. Mike set a blanket down and they both sat, Melanie cradled in Mike's lap, and stared out into the horizon. They sat like that, enjoying the beautiful morning and each other's company, until the darkening clouds began to collect again.

Sighing Mike stood up; lifting Melanie with him. He shook out the blanket and took her hand in his to head back home to make something to eat. As they approached the Pad they noticed a strange, bright light emanating from it. Mike and Melanie glanced at each other with worry before bolting toward the Pad to check it out. Once inside they noticed it was very quiet, too quiet.

"This just isn't right at all," Mike muttered while looking around, "it's way too quiet. I know they're all here." As he made his way into the kitchen, what he saw made him stop in his tracks.


	2. Oops

A/N - once again big thanks to my beta saiken2009. You're the best!

Hope you guys like it :-)

* * *

Sitting on the kitchen table was the chemistry set Peter had given to Micky the previous Christmas alongside a physics book and the device Mike had told Micky to dismantle earlier. _Oh no, what did he do now?_ Mike wasn't exactly sure he wanted to know. He was about to go ask Melanie if she had seen anything when he heard a small squeak coming from underneath the table. He crouched down to see where it was coming from and found a small child, who couldn't be more than a year old, who had a suspiciously familiar mop of curly hair on his head. His clothes were pooled around his ankles.

"Papa, up!"the boy squeaked out raising his arms. Mike chuckled and wrapped the child in the t-shirt that was on the floor and picked him up.

"Oh, Micky, I'm not your papa and you know it." Mike shook his head, "What did you do to yourself?" He walked back into the living room where Melanie was looking around. "Hey, Mel, look who I found."

"Is that _Micky?, _Melanie gasped turning toward him.

"I'd say so," he handed Micky off to Melanie. "Can you keep an eye on him while I look for Peter and Davy?" Melanie nodded as Mike ran up the stairs. At the top of the staircase, Mike found another child: this one with sandy blond hair falling in his eyes, whose pants were also around his ankles, but luckily his shirt still hung loosely around him. Peter's old acoustic guitar, which looked worse for the ware, lay forgotten behind him. This boy looked to be around two years old and too scared to move. "Hey, Pete," Mike whispered so as not to frighten him further, "you ok, good buddy?"

"Mike, help!" Peter squealed and reached for his hand.

"Where's Davy?" Mike asked as he grasped the boy's hand.

"Davy, nap!" Peter said pointing toward the bedroom. Then he carefully walked inside, never letting go of Mike's hand.

Back downstairs, Melanie was having a rough time getting Micky to sit still; he may not have been able to walk, but he was definitely a speed crawler. She chased him from the living room to the kitchen; then back to the alcove where he hid behind his drums.

"Mama, mama, mama!" Micky chanted as he crawled making sure he had Melanie's attention and that she was following him.

"Micky!" Melanie sighed, "You know I'm not your mama. Don't you remember me?" Micky stopped crawling and looked back to her with a big goofy grin on his face. He nodded his head vigorously and pointed back to Melanie.

"Mama!" Micky cried out. Melanie rolled her eyes as she picked him up so he couldn't crawl away from her again and brought him back to the couch where she sat him on her lap.

"Now you're going to stay here with me until Mike comes back down, got it?" Micky smiled wide and nodded that he understood.

Walking into the room, Mike didn't see anything at first. It wasn't until Peter walked him closer to Davy's bed that he noticed a small lump tangled up in sheets and bedclothes.

"Oh merciful heavens," Mike exclaimed as he began untangling the mess, "sure hope you're ok, Tiny."

Once he freed Davy from his sheet prison and got a good look at the child, Mike was horrified. Davy couldn't have been more than a few weeks old. He wrapped Davy as best he could in the blanket and cradled him in his arms as gently as he could; then took Peter's hand and walked back to the staircase. Peter once again froze at the top of the stairs and refused to move.

"Come on, Pete, it's ok," Mike tried to coax, "you know these stairs inside and out. You'll be fine. I won't let go of your hand, I promise." The boy smiled up at Mike and slowly, one step at a time, made his way down with Mike.

When Peter saw Melanie he wobbled over to her and she picked him up and sat him next to her on the couch. Mike followed close behind and scooted Micky over so that Melanie could hold Davy properly; he was way too afraid of hurting the little guy.

"Not the Mama!" Micky cried pointing up at Mike. He tried to run away again, but Mike caught him before he made it off the couch.

"You're right Mick," Mike chuckled, "I'm not the mama. Who am I?"

"Papa!, Micky cried out after thinking it over. He snuggled up with Melanie on the couch and looked at Peter, smiling as if showing him something. Peter nodded his head eagerly.

"Papa," Peter said pointing to Mike, "and mama," moving back to Melanie. He smiled happily at his understanding of what Micky was trying to say.

"You guys are crazy," Mike threw his hands up in exasperation, "you guys know we aren't your parents. I know you do."

"Mike," Melanie whispered, "I don't think it's that they think we're their parents. I think they are trying to say that we are like their 'mama and papa' because we've suddenly got three children to take care of." Micky and Peter nodded in unison.

"Merciful heavens," Mike cried, "this is a disaster." Mentally exhausted from discovering his three bandmates had regressed into children; he plopped himself down on the floor and held his head in his hands. He lifted his head to look at Melanie.

"Well we've got ourselves quite a handful here, huh?" Melanie sighed as she looked from Mike to Peter, to Micky and finally to Davy.

"What are we gonna do?" Mike asked shaking his head.

"We're gonna look through that physics book of Micky's and figure out how to reverse this," Melanie started, "that's what we're gonna do. First we have to find some clothes for these little guys to wear." She cringed as she felt a warm wet spot on her lap. "And some diapers too. I'll tell you what, Mike, I'll stay here with you and help take care of these guys while we try to find a way to reverse this."

"You don't have to do that," Mike replied. "They're my responsibility."

"I know I don't have to," Melanie shot back. "I want to."

"Well as long as you're sure you know what you're getting into," Mike replied smiling. "I can't refuse an offer like that. Looks like we're gonna play house after all"


	3. Troublemaker

**A/N - thanks once again to my beta saiken2009. You are so helpful and keep me so motivated, I don't think I've ever posted chapters so quickly lol**

**Anyway enjoy :-) hope you like it!**

* * *

"You know, Mike," Melanie started, "my mom still has all mine and my brother's clothes from when we were kids. I bet we could find some things to fit these little guys."

"Man, that would be a big help," Mike replied. "Why don't you take the Monkeemobile and see what you can find. I'll stay here and look after them."

"I go with mama!" Peter interrupted as he flashed a dimpled grin at Melanie.

"Ok, Peter," Melanie replied chuckling, "you can come with me." She handed Davy back to Mike and positioned his arms so he could hold his tiny friend properly. "Don't worry, babe, you're not going to hurt him. Hold him just like this and you'll both be fine." She turned back to Peter and took his hand. "Come on, little buddy, we've got some work to do!" Peter beamed as she led him outside.

Melanie lifted Peter into the backseat of the GTO and strapped him in tightly. _You should really have a safety seat, but this will have to do for now. _She got behind the wheel and carefully drove the 10 minutes back to her parents' house.

"Ok, Peter, we're here," Melanie whispered. "Now I need you to be very quiet so we can get in and out without having to explain where you came from. Got it?"

Peter nodded cheerfully and followed Melanie up the stairs at the back of the house. She put a finger to her lips, to remind him to keep quiet, and opened the door. She glanced both ways before entering the house and ushered Peter toward the basement stairs.

* * *

Back at the Pad, Micky had wandered away from Mike while he was tending to Davy. He found Mike's new song book that the guitarist had only purchased two days prior and was fascinated. Micky liked the feel of the paper and began squishing it between his tiny fists; balling it up and ripping it from the book. He tossed it all over the room like giant pieces of confetti. He was so excited he didn't hear the footsteps coming up behind him.

"Micky!" Mike cried as he spied what was left of his song book. "What are you doin' man? You're lucky I haven't had time to write anything in it yet." He laid Davy gingerly on the floor before turning back to Micky. "Now you sit over here with Davy and try to behave while I clean this mess up."

Micky, of course, had no intention of sitting still. As soon as Mike's back was turned he crawled over to the alcove. He tentatively felt the skin of the bass drum before tapping on it with his hands. He squealed at the sound and hit the bass drum harder. Unfortunately, being that he was now a toddler, he didn't take into account the reverberation the drum produced. He stumbled back and caught himself on the snare stand which quickly toppled over. Micky cried out as he lost his balance; covering his eyes against what was happening.

Luckily for Micky, Mike was there to catch him and make sure the snare didn't fall on his head. He scooped up the rambunctious toddler just before the snare crashed to the floor. Mike wasn't quite sure how he had been able to save Micky with Davy huddled in his arms; but he wasn't about to complain. He chalked it up to beginners luck.

"Man, you just don't like to listen do you?" Mike chided looking Micky in the eye. "You're even worse than you were fully grown." Micky pouted as his eyes welled up with tears; he didn't like being scolded. "Don't you make that face at me; I know what you were doin'. Just couldn't sit still for two seconds, could you?" Micky shook his head and smiled as he began to squirm around in Mike's arms

"Down!" Micky yelped. "Down, Papa!" He fought to get away from Mike, but it was futile. He just wasn't strong enough to escape Mike's grip.

"Oh no you don't," Mike said as he gripped Micky tighter, "I know what you need; you need a distraction to keep you busy for a few minutes. How about some cereal?"

"Co fakes!" Micky squealed as he nodded happily. Mike carried them into the kitchen and sat Micky on one of the chairs. He poured some corn flakes into the smallest bowl he could find and set that along with a spoon in from of Micky.

"Ok," Mike said as he watched Micky try to spoon the cereal into his mouth, "now you enjoy that while I take care of Davy baby, here." He walked back into the living room and plopped himself down on the couch.

Mike was weary of holding Davy so long; he started to feel heavy. Micky's shenanigans had thoroughly exhausted him; so he decided to put together a makeshift bed for Davy on the couch. He wrapped blankets around him in a circle before making a dash upstairs for a pillow.

Just as he retrieved a pillow from Davy's bed he heard a shrill scream. _Oh merciful heavens._ He ran from the room and in true Micky fashion slid down the banister to get to Davy faster. He found his tiny friend face down on the floor as he continued to scream.

"Davy!" Mike exclaimed, his heart dropping to the floor. "Oh no, Davy. I'm so sorry! Are you ok, little buddy? I shouldn't have left you on the couch like that. I'm so sorry. Please, please, please be ok." Mike picked Davy up and cradled him the way Melanie showed him. He looked Davy over and noted the start of a small bruise on his arm. He felt terrible, as if he'd failed his friend when he needed him most. Mike couldn't believe he had been so stupid. _Man this is a lot more work than I thought it would be. I can't even take my eye off them for a second. I Hope Mel and Pete get back soon, I can't take much more of this!._

Mike was brought out of his thoughts by a loud crash coming from the kitchen. _What now? _As he walked into the kitchen he immediately regretted it. Micky stood next to the table with the bowl on top of his head, the spoon sticking out of his pants and corn flakes everywhere.

"Hat!" Micky exclaimed as he pointed to his head with a smug grin on his face.

* * *

Meanwhile, Melanie and Peter had found a large bin of baby and toddler clothes that looked like they would be the right sizes. They were about to leave when Peter walked into a spiderweb and yelled for Melanie.

"Mama, Spiderweb!" Peter cried. "Off, off, off!"

"Shh, Peter," Melanie whispered as she pulled the web out of Peter's hair. "We have to be quiet, remember?"

Peter nodded as he shook his head one last time to get rid of the icky feeling. Melanie had Peter go first up the steps since she couldn't hold his hand and carry the bin at the same time. When they got to the top of the stairs Melanie's mother was there to greet them.

"Melanie, what in the world are you doing with all those baby clothes?" Melanie's mother, Susan, said crossing her arms over her chest. "And whose child is this?"

"Mom," Melanie started, "This is Peter. He's Mike's...cousin. His aunt asked if Mike could babysit for a few days, but she forgot their clothes so I figured we could use some of these."

"If you think I believe that, Melanie Rose, then you better march yourself out that door right now!" Susan pointed to the door as she continued yelling, "He better not be yours!"

"Mom!" Melanie retorted, "you're scaring him. Stop yelling; he's not mine. We're just looking after him for a few days." She motioned Peter toward the door and walked toward the Monkeemobile.

"Yeah well, we'll see," Susan yelled from the house, "that musician will never stay with you, so you better hope he doesn't find out!"

Melanie loaded the bin then Peter into the car and took off without another word. Once they were out of view of the house she stopped the car, grabbed a pillow that had randomly been sitting in the passenger seat and screamed into it.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, Peter," Melanie said as she turned toward him, "she's just like that. Can we not say anything to Mike? Please? I don't want to worry him with anything else right now."

"Ok," Peter replied sadly, "No tell Mike."

"Thank you," Melanie said as she kissed the top of his head, "you're a good little friend." She composed herself and took one more deep breath before starting the car and driving back to the Pad.


	4. Cleaning Up

**A/N: much thanks to my beta saiken2009. You rock! Love ya!**

**Hope you guys enjoy =)**

* * *

Mike stared at the mess that was once a relatively clean kitchen. He shook his head in disbelief. _I should have known a distraction would only be temporary._

"I don't understand how someone so small is capable of making such a huge mess in the span of 20 minutes?" Mike asked looking down at Davy knowing he wouldn't get an answer. Davy just smiled up at him. He turned his attention back to Micky. "Next time you go with Melanie, and Peter can stay here with Davy and I."

"No, Me'nie!" Micky cried, "Mama!"

"Oh, fine then," Mike replied, "next time you go with mama!" _I'm not so sure about him calling us mama and papa, but I guess I'll let it go for now. I'll ask Mel what she thinks about it later._

"You stay here, I've got my eye on you, boy. I've gotta clean up this mess before _mama_ and Peter get back." Mike put Micky back on the chair, removed the bowl and spoon and looked at him sternly before he picked up the broom and swept up the corn flakes. It wasn't an easy task sweeping while holding an infant, but Mike figured if all their mothers could do it, he could too.

Once the mess was cleaned Mike sat down across from Micky. He was hoping to have a moment to sit and think, but Davy suddenly started fussing. He let out tiny cries and kicked his legs out; Mike wasn't sure what to make of it. He checked the t-shirt that was still wrapped around Davy and let out a sigh of relief when he saw it was still clean.

"What do you need, Tiny?" Mike asked. "What can I do for you?"

"Hungy!" Micky yelled raising his arms up; nearly knocking his chair over in the process.

"Micky, man," Mike laughed, "I just gave you corn flakes and you threw them everywhere. I'm not givin' you anything else."

"No," Micky whined, "Davy, hungy!"

"Oh," Mike said in shock, "is that it, Tiny? Are you hungry?"

Davy cried out in response; much louder than he had before. Mike opened the fridge to see what he could do for him. Luckily, they still had a half gallon of milk, but Mike was at a loss for what to put it in. He knew Davy wouldn't be able to drink out of a cup or even a straw for that matter.

Mike was about to get up when he heard a loud bang at the door. He panicked. _Oh god please don't be Mr. Babbitt! _

"Micky, you stay right there," Mike said sternly as Micky smiled back at him. "I mean it, don't move," Mike walked slowly towards the door and looked out the peep hole and saw a giant plastic bin. _What is that?!_

"Mike!" Melanie yelled, "it's me, I can't open the door."

"Oh thank god," Mike said opening the door, "for a second I thought you might be Babbitt." Peter waddled inside, followed by Melanie who heaved the bin onto the floor.

"Well if thats what you had your heart set on I could yell at you for the rent," Melanie teased as she wrapped an arm around Mike's waist. "Peter and I found a decent amount of clothes. How did you, Micky and Davy hold up?"

"Don't ask," Mike replied, "believe me, you don't wanna know. Next time, you get Micky." _Oh shit, Micky! Please, just this once, be where I asked you to stay. _ He ran back to the kitchen and thankfully found Micky just where he left him. "Come on, Mick," Mike said offering Micky his hand, "let's go see what kinda clothes we got for ya." Micky took his hand and followed him into the living room.

"Mama!" Micky yelled as he bounded toward Melanie; arms wide open. When he finally got to her he gripped both her legs, nearly toppling her over. He extended his arms up toward her, "Up!" She lifted him up and he immediately laid his head on her chest. Melanie sighed looking down at the curly haired drummer in her arms.

"That reminds me," Mike started, "I wanted to talk to you about Micky's sudden obsession with calling us Mama and Papa. I'm just not so sure how I feel about it. What do you think?" Before Melanie could respond Davy started fussing again.

"Hold on, let me take care of Davy first," Melanie said as she placed Micky back on the floor, took Davy from Mike's arms and walked into the kitchen. She pulled out the milk from the fridge and produced a small baby bottle from her pocket.

"Where'd that come from?" Mike asked

"I figured we would need it sooner or later," Melanie responded with a laugh. "I grabbed it from my parent's house. It was in a separate bin that's why it was in my pocket." She washed the bottle thoroughly before filling it halfway with milk. Once she snapped the nipple on she gave it to Davy who drank from it as if he hadn't eaten for days.

"How'd you know he was hungry?" Mike asked as he wrapped his arms around Melanie's waist. "I couldn't figure out what he was fussin' about."

"Sometimes you just know," Melanie replied. "I can't really explain it. Call it womanly instinct if you will." Once Davy finished the bottle Melanie burped him and handed him back to Mike. "Here, you take him so I can take a look at what we've got here."

Melanie dumped out the bin on the floor and started to dig through the contents for things that would fit the boys. Peter and Micky took turns jumping into the pile and burying themselves in it. Mike sat down on the couch, laying Davy beside him. He watched from there; making sure Davy didn't roll off again.

After about an hour of searching and having to dig Micky and Peter out, Melanie had found 5 outfits each for Micky and Peter. Unfortunately, there weren't any newborn clothes in the pile.

"I managed to find some clothes that will fit Peter and Micky, but it looks like even the smallest clothes we had won't fit Davy," Melanie stated. "I guess we're gonna have to get some clothes for him along with the diapers. That old t-shirt you wrapped him in won't last long." She scrunched up her nose at the thought.


	5. Mama and Papa

**A/N - huge thanks to my beta saiken2009 especially with things that go wrong when my brain is half asleep :-P**

**Also, it's my secret how I know what blue crayons taste like...I'll never tell!**

**Enjoy :-)**

* * *

Melanie picked out an outfit each for Micky and Peter. She held up a t-shirt with a cartoon guitar depicted on it and a pair of brown pants. Peter gladly put his arms over his head for Melanie to change his clothes. He blushed when Melanie removed the too big shirt and put his hands down to cover his modesty.

"Don't worry, Peter," Melanie said as she pulled his new pants up. "I won't look." He smiled and gave her a hug after he was dressed.

"Thank you, Mama!" Peter said as he walked over to Mike so that Melanie could do the same for Micky.

"My turn?" Micky asked as he crawled over.

"That's right, Mick, what do you think?" Melanie asked him; holding up a shirt with a picture of a t-rex on it.

"Yay!" Micky yelled, "Di'sour" He allowed Melanie to dress him without any fuss. He, unlike Peter, had no qualms about Melanie seeing him naked.

"Micky, you're such a ham," Melanie said laughing. She put away the rest of the clothes that they could use and returned the unused clothes to the bin to be set aside. As she put the remainder of the clothes away, a lone diaper fell to the floor.

"Oh thank goodness," Melanie cried as she picked it up. "Now we can set Davy up properly, at least for the moment anyway." Before Mike could process what she was doing, Melanie had unwrapped the old shirt from Davy's body and diapered him right there on the couch.

Mike took the whole scene in with reluctance. He thought Melanie would make a great mother someday, but he didn't like the idea of her seeing his bandmates so exposed. _Another thing I'll talk to her about later, if there's ever a chance. _

Melanie turned her attention back to Micky and Peter, who were being suspiciously quiet.

"What are you boys up to?" Melanie asked as she sat back on the floor with them.

"No fun!" Micky cried.

"We bored," Peter added.

"Bored huh?" Mike asked. "Well, I'm not sure we have anything for you guys to do. We still haven't made it to the store." He turned to make sure Davy was still ok and found him sleeping soundly; his thumb tucked in his mouth.

"Aww, will ya look at that," Mike said. "I guess it's naptime for Davy then."

"Me too," Peter squeaked, "I take nap too, please." He yawned as he looked from Mike back to Melanie. "Upstairs?" Peter said as he reached for Melanie's hand.

"Ok," Melanie replied with a smile. "Let's go buddy." She hoisted him onto her back and ran to the staircase with him. She turned back to Mike before climbing the stairs and whispered, "I'll be back in a minute for Davy; so just sit tight." Mike nodded and watched her disappear into the bedroom with Peter.

Moments later Melanie emerged from the bedroom and came back to the couch. She lifted Davy, taking care to not jostle him awake, and carried him slowly upstairs. Mike and Micky looked at each other for only a second before Micky took off.

"No nap, no nap, no nap!" Micky yelled, as he crawled as fast as he could away from Mike. Mike, however, had seen the mischievous glint in Micky's eyes and was able to scoop him up before he could get very far.

"Now just hold on a second there, Micky," Mike chided, "don't think you're gettin' off so easy after how you behaved this afternoon. I'm takin' you upstairs and we'll let Melanie decide if you need a nap or not."

Micky squirmed as much as he could, but escape was not to be had. There was no way Mike was going to let him loose until they were up in the bedroom with the door closed.

"Noooo!" Micky screamed as Mike climbed the spiral staircase. "Down! Go down!"

"Oh you wanna go down, do you?" Mike said with a chuckle. "Why didn't you say so?" He ran into the bedroom, shut the door, and plopped Micky down on his bed. Micky pouted as he looked up at Mike with a face that said 'that's not what I meant.'

"No nap!" Micky said as he turned his attention to Melane, looking at her with pleading eyes. "Mama! No wanna nap!"

"You don't want a nap?" Melanie replied softly. "Well I guess you don't want to watch Jonny Quest later today then."

"No!" Micky cried as he looked at her in disbelief. He crawled his way under the covers and pretended to snore as he mumbled, "Take nap!"

"Ok boys, we'll be downstairs if you need us," Melanie whispered.

"Don't try to get down though, just yell for us?" Mike told them as he and Melanie left the room.

"Sweet dreams," Melanie added closing the door.

"Thank goodness for nap time, huh?" Melanie asked smiling at Mike.

"Yeah," Mike replied, "if they actually sleep. I guess we'll hit the store later."

"Come on," Mike said as he took Melanie's hand and led her downstairs. "There's some things me and you gotta talk about."

Mike led her back to the couch so they could sit down and talk. He took off his hat; playing with it in his hands trying to make the words come out. He wasn't quite sure what to say now that they were alone.

"Is something the matter, Mike?" Melanie asked. "Well, more wrong than it was this morning?"

"No," Mike said laughing, "no more than usual anyway. It's just Micky's whole thing with calling us Mama and Papa. I'm not sure it's really a good thing. I don't want him thinking we're his parents and then getting confused if we find a way to reverse this."

"Shh," Melanie said resting her hand on his arm. "It's ok. I don't think Micky thinks we're his parents. He may not have the full capacity of his adult mind. It almost seems as though they remember certain things and not others. Peter and Micky anyway, I know they know who we are." She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder, "Besides, I think it's kinda cute. Don't you?"

"Yeah," Mike said as a faint blush tinged his cheeks, "I guess it is pretty cute. I think you're right. They do seem to remember some things; I'm just not really sure how much. But, there is one more thing," he paused as if he didn't really want to talk about his next point, but knew he had to.

"What's that?" Melanie asked as she looked up at him.

"Well, you see, when you were dressin' Pete and he got all embarrassed it kinda got me thinkin'," Mike started before taking a deep breath and blowing it out. "It's just that I don't really think its appropriate, you seein' them that way. I know it's silly, cuz it's not like you're lookin' or anything, but maybe I should just be the one to change 'em and all that. Save everyone a lot of embarrassment."

"Oh, Mike," Melanie whispered; holding him tighter. "It's ok, I understand. It didn't really cross my mind before, but you're right. You know that means you'll have to bathe them and change some diapers too, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Mike replied. "It's weird, but I'm not too worried about it. Gotta do what you gotta do, you know?"

"I know," Melanie said smiling, "you're going to make a great father one day."

"Thanks babe," Mike said feeling himself relax a bit, "but really, you're the one who's gonna be great as a parent. You were prepared for all these things I never even thought of. I couldn't even tell Davy was hungry before. I'd be lost without you."

Mike pulled Melanie into his lap and hugged her tight. He wasn't sure how long this quiet reprieve would last and he wanted to make the most of it. There was no telling how long it would take them to figure out how to reverse Micky's experiment. If they even could. As Mike predicted, it was only a precious 15 minutes before they heard a shout from upstairs.

"Mama!" Peter cried, "Mama, Papa, need you!"

"Show time!" Mike said as he and Melanie rose from the couch and headed for the stairs.


	6. Naptime Troubles

**A/N - Thanks so much to my wonderful beta saiken2009. Love ya!**

* * *

Mike and Melanie rushed up the stairs; hoping Peter was ok. They weren't quite sure what to expect when they reached the bedroom, but what they found was the furthest thing from their minds.

As they walked into the room everything looked relatively normal. Micky and Davy still looked to sbe sleeping, so Mike and Melanie sat on the edge of Peter's bed to see what was bothering him.

"Peter," Melanie asked. "What's wrong?"

"Micky!" Peter cried.

"What about Micky?" Mike asked looking toward Micky's bed. "He's asleep, shotgun."

"Micky no share," Peter replied.

"Share what?" Melanie questioned.

"Crayon," Peter answered.

Mike walked over to Micky's bed and noticed there were blue markings squiggled on the wall near the head of the bed.

"Hey, Mel," Mike called. "Looks like we've got an artist over here. Not only that; we've got a faker too." He pulled the covers down and revealed a giggling Micky with suspicious pieces of something blue stuck in his teeth.

"Oh no," Mike said gulping. "What did you do, Micky?"

"Yummy!" Micky replied cheerfully.

"Oh, you didn't," Mike started. "Did you?"

"What is it Mike?" Melanie questioned while bouncing Peter on her lap. "I can't see from here."

"We need to get Micky to a doctor," Mike said, his voice rising in pitch slightly. "I'm pretty sure Micky ate a crayon. His teeth are all blue and like i said there's a drawing on the wall, also done in blue crayon." At this point he was near panic. "Oh god, he's gonna have to get his stomach pumped, and be in the hospital, and we don't even have a birth certificate or anything for him. What are we gonna do? I can't believe I let this happen!"

"Mike, relax," Melanie said as she picked Peter up and walked over to Micky's bed. She sat on the edge and Micky crawled into her lap next to Peter. He looked up at her and grinned wildly.

"How can you tell me to relax at a time like this?" Mike cried. "He ate a crayon; there's not even a piece of it left. Oh god... Micky... what are we gonna do?"

"Mike," Melanie said grabbing his arm. "Stop freaking out, you're gonna scare them. Crayons are non toxic; they're perfectly safe to ingest. Only made from wax. I wouldn't recommend eating one, but nothing's going to happen to him."

"You're sure?" Mike asked, not able to fully believe her.

"I'm positive," Melanie replied laughing. "I'm pretty sure every kid has eaten at least a piece of a crayon at one point or another. I did when I was younger and I'm fine."

"Oh thank heavens," Mike said, sighing with relief. "I still can't believe he ate the whole thing though."

"Yummy!" Micky cried "All gone!" He said as he showed Melanie his empty hands.

"I see that," Melanie replied stoically. "But, you know, Micky, we don't eat crayons. They aren't food. Wouldn't you rather eat something like pizza instead of a crayon?"

"Pizza!" Micky said, eyes glowing as bright as Christmas lights. "Yummy, yummy, yummy!"

"I have pizza too?" Peter asked, looking up at Melanie hopefully.

"Of course you can have some too," Melanie said smiling at him. "We'll get some for dinner. Micky, you have to promise to be a good boy the rest of the day or you will have something else to eat."

"Ok!" Micky squealed. "Be good!"

"Ok boys," Mike said as Melanie tucked Peter back into his bed. "Finish up your nap and we'll see you when you wake up. And no more drawing on the walls." He glared at Micky as he finished.

Mike and Melanie made their way back downstairs where he settled on the couch and she went to the kitchen.

"You hungry, babe?" Mike called.

"No," Melanie replied. "I figured I'd pack some snacks for the boys to take on our shopping trip. It's going to be difficult at best even with snacks. I don't want it to be a nightmare."

"How do you know all these things?" Mike asked. "It's almost like you are their mother. Every crazy situation we've encountered so far you've had a solution to. How do you do it?"

"Don't forget," Melanie said. "I have a little brother who is much younger than me. I had to take care of him a lot growing up." Her face grew serious and she took a deep breath. "I don't really want to talk about it. I just know what I'm doing."

Mike was concerned by her reaction, but didn't want to push it. He hoped she would come to him with whatever happened in her past eventually. For now he would just be there for her.

"Ok, babe," Mike said walking up behind her and wrapping her in his arms. "I'm just glad one of us has a clue."

"Anyway," Melanie said changing the subject. "I really don't think Micky should be allowed to go to the store. He needs to re-learn that actions have consequences. Do you want to stay here with him or go shopping with Peter and Davy?"

"I'll take my chances with Peter and Davy," Mike said wryly. "Micky had me running around in circles before."

"Ok," Melanie said handing him a piece of paper and a bag full of snacks. "You're going to need these then."

"What's the list for?" Mike asked.

"This is all you're going to need to get at the store," Melanie replied. "Let Peter pick something out for himself; since he was good all day and we don't have any toys here. Get something for Davy and Micky too."

"Ok, Mama," Mike said with a smile. "Hey, I'm kinda starting to like that."

"Well, Papa," Melanie countered hearing movement coming from upstairs. "Let's go get the boys so you can get going."

After bringing the boys downstairs Melanie placed Davy into a sling she had made from a sheet and tied it to Mike. This way he could hold Davy and still have his hands free for Peter and shopping.

"Ok," Melanie said looking him over. "You're all set. The shops not a far walk; just make sure you keep an eye on Peter."

"Got it," Mike replied giving Melanie a kiss goodbye. "See you guys in a little bit. Come on, Pete, let's get going."

Micky and Melanie waved goodbye before closing the door.

"I hope he doesn't have too much trouble," Melanie thought out loud. "He's got no idea what he's in for."

Mike continued waving as Melanie closed the door behind her. As soon as it was safely shut, he double checked that he had the list and snacks, Davy was still safely tucked in the makeshift sling, and Peter…

"Peter!" Mike cried looking around for his small friend. "Pete, this isn't funny where are you, little buddy?" As he looked all around he heard a small giggle and the scraping of paws on the sidewalk coming from behind him. He looked up just in time to see Peter running away from him; chasing a rabbit down the street.


	7. Runaway

**A/N: Thanks so much to my awesome beta saiken2009. She's the best =) love ya! Hope you guys enjoy. Please review and let me know how you like it. I don't know if you don't tell me :-)**

* * *

Mike took off as fast as his legs would carry him. He was trying to be mindful of Davy, but he also didn't want to lose sight of Peter. Unfortunately, with Davy and the bag he was carrying, it was difficult to keep up. The rabbit and Peter rounded a corner and disappeared from view. By the time Mike reached the corner he saw no trace of Peter or the rabbit. _Oh shit, we barely left the Pad and I already lost him._

The rabbit was spooked and running around, almost in circles, looking for an escape. Somehow Peter was keeping up with it rather well until it darted under a bush and was lost from sight. Peter looked around and realized that he was unsure of where he was. He was standing on the edge of someones yard and didn't see Mike or Davy anywhere and was beginning to get nervous.

"Hey, kid," a man yelled from the front porch of the house. "Get off my lawn. Where the hell are your parents!?"

This startled Peter so he took off running in the direction he thought he had came from. He didn't even realize he had stepped into the street until he heard a horn blaring behind him. He moved out of the way just in time for a big truck to fly past him.

"What are you doing?" the truck driver called. "Get out of the road!"

"Papa?" Peter cried in desperation.

He looked all around, but still didn't see Mike anywhere.

"Papa!" Peter cried, louder this time. "Where you go?" Peter still didn't see his friends. He curled himself into a ball and laid down on the sidewalk. Tears were forming in his eyes as he cried out one more time, "Papa! Come back!"

"I'm right here shotgun," Mike huffed running up behind him. When he finally reached Peter he dropped to his knees and pulled him into a big hug; still being mindful of Davy. "Why are you on the sidewalk? And why do you look like you're gonna cry?" Mike shook his head realizing Peter was probably upset that he got himself lost. "Never mind that, it's ok. You had me so scared, buddy. Don't go running off like that again!"

"I won't," Peter said wiping away the tears that never fell. "Hold hands?" He reached up as far as he could, but still couldn't reach Mike.

Mike gladly reached down and took Peter's hand. They walked slowly toward the store together.

* * *

Back at the Pad Melanie brought Micky into the living room and turned on Jonny Quest as she promised, since he _did_ nap, a little. Micky sat in Melanie's lap focused on the latest monster the Quest team was up against. It was an _invisible_ monster.

Melanie felt exhausted and let her mind drift away. Her mind instantly thought of what would happen if she and Mike couldn't change Micky, Peter and Davy back. They would be stuck raising their three friends as their own children. As young as they were, and the fact that they weren't married meant that comments like those that had come from her mother would be more common than not. She didn't quite care, but what kind of life would that be for them? What kind of life would it be for Peter, Davy and Micky.

Melanie didn't even realize she had started to tear up until she was brought back to the real world by Micky yelling in her ear.

"Mama!" Micky yelled. "Why cryin?"

"Oh," Melanie said looking around. She didn't even realize a whole half an hour had gone by and the show was over. "It's ok, Micky, it's nothing. Why don't we play with some of these blocks?"

"Yay!" Micky cried. "Blocks!"

* * *

When Mike, Peter and Davy finally made it to the store Peter had already eaten one snack and Davy was squirming to get out of the cloth prison attaching him to Mike.

"Alright, guys," Mike said. "We finally made it. Melanie said to pick something out for yourself so go ahead, Pete."

Peter walked slowly down the first aisle; checking back every now and then to make sure Mike was still behind him. He stopped when he saw a stuffed rabbit that looked just like the one he had been chasing earlier.

"This one," Peter said cautiously, handing the toy to Mike.

"Ok then," Mike said smiling back. "At least this one can't take off running on ya."

Mike saw movement out of the corner of his eye and looked down to see Davy holding a model horse. He was laughing as he bounced it up and down; mimicking a gallop Mike assumed.

"Is that the one you like, Davy?" Mike asked, taking it for a moment to see if it would be safe to get for him. "$3.50? Are they out of their minds?" Mike was about to put the toy back on the shelf when Davy let out an ear piercing cry. Mike put the toy down and lifted Davy out of the carrier.

"What's the matter, Davy?" Mike asked. "Are you hungry? No that can't be right, you just ate 20 minutes ago." Mike checked Davy's diaper, then sighed in relief. "You're not wet. What's going on, Tiny?" Davy reached for the toy horse; crying like Mike had never heard before.

"Is that it?" Mike questioned. "You want this?" He picked up the toy and handed it to Davy, who immediately stopped crying and resumed playing.

"Really, man? This thing is way too expensive." Mike looked around and saw a smaller stuffed horse that was half the price. He switched the two toys thinking Davy wouldn't know the difference. He let out another cry, even louder than the last, letting Mike know just how wrong he was.

People were starting to stare and Mike was getting very uncomfortable. He hated seeing Davy cry like this, but at the same time they couldn't afford to spend 10 dollars on a toy. Especially when, hopefully, they boys would be back to normal soon.

"Aww, what's the matter, little guy?" A woman Mike didn't know said as she walked up to him and Davy. Peter grabbed Mike's hand and hid behind his legs. He didn't like something about this strange woman.

"He's fine," Mike replied. "He just wants something we can't get, that's all."

The woman moved closer, soothing Davy so that she could put away the expensive toy and replace it with the other. Davy smiled and cooed at the woman as Mike rolled his eyes. _Oh, Davy, really? Even as an infant you're a lady killer._ Once Davy was quiet the woman moved closer to Mike.

"See, just takes a little feminine touch," the woman said. "I'm Jessica."

"Mike, nice to meet you," Mike said. "This is Davy and Peter."

"Well hi there boys," Jessica said before she focused on Mike once again. "So, Mike, is there anything else I can _help_ you with?"

"Oh no," Mike said. "We're fine now thank you." He tried to make his way down the aisle, but Jessica didn't move.

"What's the rush?" Jessica asked sticking her chest out. "You look like you could use it. Here, let me take this little one." She reached for Davy, who reached out toward her. Mike instinctively backed up further, making sure Peter moved with him. _Come on, Tiny, you're not even old enough for that yet._

"Look, miss…" Mike started.

"Jessica." She interrupted.

"Ok, Jessica," Mike reiterated. "We're doing just fine. Now I've gotta get these little ones back to their mama before she wonders where we ran off to."

"Mama?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, Shotgun," Mike replied. "She's at home. Do you wanna go see her?"

"Yeah, Mama!" Peter cried, reaching for Mike's hand.

"So if you'll excuse me please," Mike said, taking Peter's hand. "We need to get going."

"Why don't you come with me instead?" Jessica asked. "I can play _mama._"

"I don't think so," Mike spat, pushing past her. "I'm perfectly happy with their mama, thank you." He pushed past her as she shot a nasty look at him. He looked down at Davy. "You stay away from women like that; you hear me, Tiny?"

Mike grabbed the rest of the things on Melanie's list, paid and walked back to the Pad. His head was spinning. _What the hell was that? _He had no idea why a woman would act like that; especially around kids. He shook his head. _Man, I sure hope Melanie had an easier time with Micky. This whole trip was a disaster._


	8. PLaying Dirty

**A/N - Much love to my wonderful beta saiken2009. Not only is she an awesome beta, but she feeds my addiction for more of her fics :-). You're the best girlie! Hope you guys are enjoying this!  
**

* * *

Mike, Peter, and Davy made it the rest of the way back to the Pad without incident. When they walked in the door. Mike found Melanie and Micky laying on the couch watching tv. He left the bags on the floor, lifted Peter onto the couch and handed Davy to Melanie.

"How was your afternoon?" Mike asked sitting in one of the chairs from the kitchen.

"It was fine," Melanie said. "We just watched tv and hung out right, Micky?" Micky nodded his head and smiled. "How did your trip to the store go?"

"A nightmare," Mike said shaking his head. "I'll tell you about it later."

"Alright," Melanie said laughing. "How about we have some dinner, then I'll take Micky, Peter, and Davy outside to play a little before bedtime so you can have some time to relax?"

"That would be wonderful," Mike said walking over to Melanie. He leaned down to kiss her, and whispered. "I don't know what I would do without you, thank you so much."

"It's no problem," Melanie said. "Kids this age can be a lot to handle. I don't want you wearing yourself out."

"Tell you what," Mike said standing up. "I'll go pick up that pizza you promised Micky; you watch the little ones."

"Ok, that sounds good." Melanie replied.

While Mike was out Melanie fed Davy again and changed him into his new clothes, including a new diaper. She knew Mike wasn't comfortable with it, but she really didn't have a choice. He could take care of bath time later. Micky and Peter played with their new toys; Mike had picked out a dinosaur toy for Micky. He remembered how excited he was about the one on his shirt.

Mike made it back with the pizza a half hour later. Mike lifted Micky and Peter into their seats at the table while Melanie sat holding Davy. Mike put plates in front of the boy and was about to give them each a slice when Melanie reminded him he would need to cut it up for Peter and Micky to make sure they wouldn't choke. Melanie balanced Davy on her lap and helped Micky eat before finally eating herself. When they were all done Mike cleared the dishes and put them in the sink while Melanie wiped Micky and Peter's faces with a damp napkin.

"Ok, babe," Mike said. "If you wanna take them outside now I'll do the dishes."

"Sounds good to me," Melanie said as she placed Davy in his sling and took Micky and Peter by the hand. "Come on boys let's go play outside."

"Yay!" Micky and Peter cried together.

The beach was far too crowded for Melanie to keep track of the kids by herself; especially these three kids. So she decided to let them play in the small front yard; it was still wet from the on and off rain they'd been having, but it would be fine. At least Melanie thought it would be.

Of course she should have known that Micky and Peter would find the only mud puddle in the yard and head right for it. Before she could even comprehend what was going on the two were splashing away and even though the puddle wasn't that big both were covered head to toe in mud.

"Really, guys?" Melanie asked. "Two seconds and you're filthy." She laughed shaking her head. "What do you think we should do with them, Davy?" Davy just looked up at her. Melanie laughed at herself talking to a baby that way. "Yeah, I don't know either."

Melanie decided to let them have their fun. They were already filthy and a little mud never hurt anyone. She watched them for a few minutes while she rocked Davy. She was hoping they would burn out some of that energy kids seem to have a limitless supply of.

Melanie lost herself in the scene before her. She admired how simple life was for kids. Most had no idea how cruel the world really was. Before she could dwell on her own demons too much, a sharp tug to her hair brought her back to reality.

"Ouch, Davy," Melanie said removing a lock of hair from his tiny fist. "That hurts you know. It's not nice to pull hair."

"You ok, babe?" Mike asked, running outside. "I heard you yell."

"Yeah, I'm ok," Melanie replied. "Davy just pulled on my hair when I wasn't looking."

"Watch it, Tiny," Mike said jokingly. "When we figure out how to fix this she just might pay you back for that one."

"Let me get these two out of the mud," Melanie said laughing, She handed Davy over to Mike and turned around only to be hit in the face and chest with mud flying off the boys arms.

"They gotcha," Mike said with a chuckle.

"I see that," Melanie replied, wiping her face.

Just as she was about to say something to Micky and Peter, her legs were attacked. She fell forward right into the mud and Micky and Peter jumped on top of her.

"You guys can't come in the house like that," Mike said, trying not to laugh too hard. "You'll get mud everywhere."

"We're gonna have to hose them down," Melanie said.

"Gonna have to hose you down too, mud queen," Mike said, unable to control his laughter anymore. "I'm sorry, if you could only see what the three of you look like. It's hilarious."

"Very funny," Melanie said placing her hands on her hips. "Go get the hose, funny man."

Mike did as he was told and let Peter and Micky run through it to clean off all the mud. When they were finally clean he hosed Melanie down as well. He gulped when he saw the way Melanie's wet clothes clung to her body. He turned around quickly, not wanting her to know how the sight of her dripping wet was affecting him, and ran back into the Pad to grab some towels.

Once everyone was dry enough to go back inside Mike took Davy upstairs to clean him up before bed. He had an easier time of it than he thought he would. Somehow he was getting the hang of taking care of them. He came back downstairs and handed Davy to Melanie, then he took Micky and Peter up to take a bath. Melanie sat on the couch and rocked Davy to sleep while she waited for Mike.

Upstairs, bathtime started off smoothly enough. Mike filled the tub halfway and put a little bubble bath in for Micky and Peter to enjoy. Peter made himself laugh piling suds on top of Micky's head, making a hat.

"Papa's hat," Peter said pointing at Micky.

"Yeah, I guess it does look a little like my hat, Shotgun." Mike said smiling. "Good job!"

Mike washed Peter's hair and finished cleaning him. Suddenly, a wave of soapy water crashed into him. Micky was splashing his hands in and out of the water; sending it flying everywhere. The whole bathroom was wet by the time Mike grabbed Micky's hands.

"Micky!" Mike cried. "You got everything all wet. Look at me, my clothes are soaked! You're gonna get it little guy."

Micky screamed as Mike tickled him and washed his hair. Once the boys were clean and dry he called Melanie up and brought Micky and Peter into the bedroom.

"You guys stay here while I clean up the bathroom," Mike said taking off his hat to hang it up to dry. As soon as he did Davy started crying.

"What's the matter, Davy?" Melanie asked rocking him more; trying to soothe him.

"You ok, Tiny?" Mike asked, walking over to them.

As soon as Mike came closer Davy started screaming louder and wiggled in Melanie's arms; seemingly trying to get away from Mike.

"That's really weird," Mike said. "I wonder why he's doing that."

"Go get your hat," Melanie said. "Now come back over here and put it on." Davy instantly stopped crying so Melanie took the hat off Mike's head once more. Once again, Davy began crying and when Melanie placed it back he stopped. "I don't think he recognizes you without your hat, Mike."

"Well this one has to dry," Mike said walking back toward the door. "After I clean up the bathroom I'll go get the blue one."

Melanie had set up a small crib she borrowed from Mrs. Filchok while Mike was at the store. She placed Davy in it and covered him with a blanket.

"Sleep tight, little one," Melanie said kissing his forehead. Then she turned back to Micky and Peter. "Ok you two, bedtime." Peter raised his arms; letting Melanie place him in his bed. He cuddled under the blanket with his new bunny and closed his eyes. Micky on the other hand hid under the bed.

"No, no, no, no, no," Micky cried. "No sleep!"

"Shh, Micky," Melanie said. "You'll wake Davy. Come on, come lay in the bed with me. I'll stay with you for a little."

"Don't wanna!" Micky cried, covering his face.

Melanie reached under; pulling Micky out from under the bed. She tucked him into his bed and started singing a lullaby her grandmother used to sing to her. Micky struggled for a little while before his eyes began to grow heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

"That was beautiful."

Melanie spun her head around; not realizing Mike was standing in the doorway. She blushed and walked over to him; making sure to turn out the light and close the door. She left it cracked open a little just in case.

"You weren't supposed to hear that," Melanie said staring at her feet.

"Why?" Mike asked. "Like I said, it was beautiful." He placed his finger under her chin and raised her face up to look at him. "Come on," he whispered, kissing her. "Let's go relax."

"Sounds good to me," Melanie replied.

"This feels like it was the longest day ever," Mike said, pulling Melanie into his arms. "But it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. One day, a long time from now, when we've finally fixed this whole mess, I would love to be Mama and Papa. For real."


	9. Bedtime

**A/N - Thanks to my awesome beta saiken2009 - love ya!**

* * *

Mike and Melanie sat on Mike's bed which they had moved to the downstairs bedroom for some relaxation. They were exhausted from putting their three munchkins to bed. Especially Micky, who had cried 'no sleep' for a half an hour before finally settling down. Mike put his arm around her; pulling her close to him.

"I just wanted to thank you," Mike said smiling at Melanie. "You've done so much, I never could have figured all this out without you."

"It's ok Michael," Melanie replied laying her hand on his face. "We're in this together. I'm not going anywhere."

"I know, babe. Thank you" Mike whispered before kissing her chastly.

"Come on," Melanie whispered. "Let's lay down, I'll stay in here with you tonight."

"Are you sure?" Mike asked. "You don't have to if you aren't comfortable. I could…"

"Shh," Melanie said placing a finger to his lips. "It's fine. Let's just lay down."

Mike scooted up on the bed and laid his head on the pillows. Melanie laid next to him placing her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly; enjoying the feeling of her warm body so close to his. He turned his head and kissed her forehead gently. She adjusted her head so she could look him in the face and reached up to kiss his lips.

"Can I keep kissing you?" Mike asked pulling back to gauge Melanie's reaction.

"Yes," Melanie responded, "please."

Mike began kissing her again; slow and steady. He didn't want to rush into anything. He just wanted to enjoy the feel of her soft lips against his. They stayed like that for some time, just kissing. Time seemed to both stand still and race ahead as this was the first time they had really spent alone. It was exhilarating.

"I love you, Mel," Mike said. "You're everything I ever wanted in a girl and so much more. I know this situation is crazy, but it's shown me even more just what an amazing woman you are."

"Mike," Melanie said smiling; unable to look him in the face. "I love you too. I've never felt like I had a real family before and well, now I have an instant family and crazy as it is, I love it."

Mike pulled Melanie back to him and began kissing her again. The passion grew between them. It was like nothing either one had ever felt before. Mike was beginning to feel he was getting too excited. He wanted to just keep kissing Melanie, but his body wanted more. It was reminiscent of the feeling he got when he saw the way her wet clothes had clung to her outside.

_Oh god don't think about that now! Not helping, Mike!_ It was too late though. His thoughts were racing with what she would look like without those clothes. What she would feel like. _Stop it! _ He didn't want to scare Melanie, so he tried to shift his lower body away from her.

"You don't have to hide it, Michael." Melanie said stroking his sideburn. "It's natural. And I don't mind it."

"Are you sure, Mel?" Mike questioned, "Because if we keep touching and kissing like this I'm not sure where it will lead." He paused gathering his nerve, "Oh god, now you probably think I only said "I love you" to get you in bed. That isn't it at all I swear. We don't have to do anything." Mike said shakily, "I just wanted to be close to you. I don't want you to feel pressured because my body can't control itself."

"I know we don't have to," Melanie replied, "I want to kiss you, to touch you, to do all these things. I'm scared at the same time, though. I've never done this before."

"Neither have I, babe," Mike said with a little more confidence, "I'm scared too." It was the truth, he was terrified of hurting her. Especially now that he knew she was as inexperienced as him.

"Just kiss me, Michael." Melanie whispered. "Let's not worry about anything else."

Mike brought his lips back down to hers; being as gentle as he could possibly be. Even though Melanie had given him the green light he still didn't want to pounce on her like a wild animal. _There will be plenty of time for that later, anyway. This is special, there's no re-doing this if it goes badly._

Mike adjusted himself; rolling over so that one of his legs was in between Melanie's and his chest was flush with hers. She could feel against her leg how tight his pants were becoming and gasped into his mouth at the feel. She had never seen a man aroused before, much less felt it.

"You ok?" Mike asked drawing away from Melanie to look into her eyes.

"I'm fine, Mike," Melanie replied. "I've just never… umm… I've never _felt_ a man before. If that makes any sense."

"It's ok," Mike said. "I know what you mean. I can move if it's making you uncomfortable."

"No," Melanie said, lowering her head again. "It's not. It's kind of exciting."

"Ok," Mike whispered, placing his finger under her chin. "But stop looking down. I want to see your beautiful face." Melanie blushed a deep red at the compliment. "And besides," Mike continued, moving closer. "I can't kiss you when you're all the way down there." He didn't give her a chance to respond. He kissed her with even more passion and nipped lightly at her bottom lip; eliciting tiny moans from Melanie.

"Mama? Papa? What you doing?"

Melanie and Mike gasped and jumped away from each other. They looked down to the end of the bed and saw two caramel colored eyes, hidden beneath sandy blonde hair, staring at them.

"Peter?!" Mike gasped out. "What are you doing out of bed buddy?"

"Too loud!" Peter cried. "What you and Mama doing?"

"We were… umm…. well… you see... uhh…" Mike fumbled.

"We were just playing a game, Peter," Melanie said saving him. "It's a game for grown ups though so you'll have to wait til you get bigger to play it, ok?"

"Oh ok," Peter replied looking a little disheartened.

"We'll tell you all about it when you're a little older, we promise," Melanie said with a smile.

"Ok, Mama," Peter replied.

"So what do you mean it's too loud?" Mike asked, afraid Peter may have heard them.

"Micky, too loud!" Peter cried.

"Micky too loud?" Mike asked with a chuckle. "Well why don't we go check it out? Come on, Shotgun." Mike, Melanie and Peter headed back to the room to see what was going on. When they walked in they immediately understood why Peter couldn't sleep. Micky's snoring sounded like a jackhammer.

Melanie rolled Micky onto his side to quiet him the best she could while Mike tucked Peter back into his bed. Mike ruffled Peter's hair and Melanie leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. As the turned towards the door Peter stopped them.

"Story please!" Peter said with a huge grin on his face.

"Story?" Mike asked. "We don't have any story books, Pete."

"Story!" Peter cried again.

Mike looked at Melanie with eyes that resembled a deer caught in headlights. They hadn't thought to get bedtime stories at the store.

"We'll have to make one up," Melanie said, sighing.

"Make one up?!" Mike asked, clearly startled. "How are we supposed to just make a story up out of thin air?"

"Like this," Melanie whispered, sitting back down on Peter's bed. "Once upon a time there was a little Prince who found himself far, far away from his family."

"What his name?" Peter asked with wide eyes.

"His name is Peter," Melanie replied with a smirk.

"My name Peter!" Peter said, excitedly.

"I know," Melanie said. "Isn't that groovy? But, the prince was too young to take care of himself and was scared that he wouldn't be able to find somewhere to stay the night."

"Oh no!" Peter cried. "Scary outside!"

"It is scary outside at night, Shotgun," Mike said joining them on the bed. "That's why we stay here where it's nice and safe. Well, for the most part."

"Anyway," Melanie said before Peter could ask any questions. "The little prince was wandering around the forest, but couldn't see anyone around. Suddenly he heard the sound of sticks crunching behind him. He was scared at first, but when he turned around there was another boy standing there."

"Who? Who?" Peter asked.

"This boys name was Micky and he told Peter where there was a little house on the beach where a young man and woman lived by themselves."

"Micky!" Peter said, pointing to the sleeping boy.

"Yes," Melanie said. "Now you have to keep quiet or I won't be able to finish the story. So Micky and Peter walked toward the beach in search of the mysterious young couple."

"But, on the way," Mike interjected. "They met a scary dragon who was guarding a bridge. The dragon wouldn't let them pass unless they answered a riddle. "What has four eyes, four ears and a very short lifespan?" the dragon asked. Peter didn't know, but Micky had an idea. "Two little boys!" Micky cried. "Thats right," the dragon said. "Now you may pass." So Micky and Peter moved on their way hoping they would get to the beach soon."

"When they got to a clearing in the forest," Melanie continued. "They saw sand and palm trees and the ocean. They had found the beach. Now they just had to find the right house. They started walking along the sand when they ran into a jumpy young woman. "Hey, guys," she said. "Will you watch my baby for me? I'll be right back." She handed Peter the small child and ran away. "I guess we better take him with us; what's his name?" Micky asked. "This little paper says his name is Davy," Peter told him. "Come on let's go."

"So they kept walking down the beach," Mike said. "They walked and walked and walked until they couldn't walk anymore. Luckily they had stumbled upon a small house. They ran up to the door and knocked. When the door opened a man and a woman answered. They had found the right house after all! So Mike and Melanie took the three boys in and raised them as their own."

"And they all lived happily ever after," Melanie finished.

Mike and Melanie looked down to see that Peter was fast asleep. They crept to the door and made their way back downstairs. It was clear that the intense desire they felt prior to Peter's little interruption had passed. Neither felt the need to mention it though; they could feel the heat was gone.

"Well that was awkward," Melanie said, laying back down in bed.

"Awkward?" Mike asked, joining her. "That was almost a disaster!"

"Oh, Mike," Melanie said with a chuckle. "It wasn't that bad."

"Yes," Mike agreed. "I suppose it could have been worse."

"Those boys are so adorable!" Melanie said.

"Yeah," Mike answered. "You do know we have to change them back, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Melanie answered.

"Come on," Mike said, kissing Melanie on the forehead. "Let's get some sleep. We're gonna need it."

As Mike lay beside Melanie, holding her close to him, he couldn't help but think he could get used to this. It wasn't fair to Micky, Peter or Davy and he really wanted to fix this and have his friends back, but he found himself enjoying playing the Papa to Melanie's Mama.

Mike toyed with the thought of having his own little one to raise with Melanie. With three full grown uncles to help out it was bound to be much easier than three baby Monkees. He wondered how Melanie would feel about it. Or if the thought had even entered her mind at all. He decided to put those thoughts away for another day. After all they still hadn't come up with a way to change the guys back. Mike drifted off to sleep with visions of babies, chemistry sets, and Melanie swimming through his mind.


	10. Music and Monsters

**A/N - thanks once again to saiken2009 for being an awesome beta...and for waiting so long for this chapter...sorry about that :-) enjoy**

* * *

It had been a full two weeks since Micky had turned himself, Peter and Davy into children and Mike and Melanie were no closer to finding a way to reverse it. Unfortunately the books Micky had were useless in the fact that they didn't really explain what it was that Micky actually did and as far as either could tell Micky hadn't taken any notes. They were frustrated, but were getting the hang of taking care of three young kids. They even had a makeshift schedule of activity time, feeding times for Davy and nap time. They figured the best way to handle the situation was to keep it as organized as they could.

They continued to fiddle with Micky's machine here and there, but they had no idea what they were doing and didn't want to screw things up further. Also, they just didn't have the time; taking care of three children who depend on you for everything was a full time job. Especially with these three! Micky alone could be a nightmare at times. So they did what they could when they had a minute, but they were beginning to think they were stuck.

Mike and Melanie had just cleaned up after breakfast and were sitting in the living room with the kids. Micky and Peter were playing with some blocks on the floor, Melanie was bouncing Davy in her lap and Mike was playing his guitar.

"Hey, Mike," Melanie said. "Can you play Papa Gene's Blues? It's one of my favorites."

"Sure, babe," Mike replied, adjusting his fingers. "I'll never say no to a request. It's really groovy that you dig my songs."

Mike sang to her as he played and even though the rest of the instruments were absent he managed to make it sound whole. When he finished playing Melanie clapped Davy's hands and Peter crawled over to where Mike was sitting on the riser.

"Again, again!" Peter cried.

"Alright, Shotgun," Mike said, laughing. "I'll play it again for you." He did as Peter clapped along; loving every minute of it.

"More!" Peter squealed, once Mike had finished for the second time.

"You want me to play it again?" Mike asked. "Well ok then." So he played it again just for Peter.

"Again! More!" Peter said, jumping up and down.

"Pete, I already played it three times, man." Mike said, laughing to himself. "Why don't I play something else now?"

"No! Again!" Peter cried.

"Yeah, again!" Micky added. "Again, Papa!"

"Ok, ok," Mike conceded. "One more time, but that's it." So he played it once more then put his guitar back on it's stand before Peter or Micky could beg him to play it again. He didn't want to get sick of it; after all it was his song.

"Welcome to the joys of parenting, Mike," Melanie said, trying to stifle a laugh and failing. "Repeat performances for hours. You're lucky at least it was one of your songs. My little brother used to make me sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat over and over again when he was little." She whispered the last part so Micky and Peter wouldn't hear her and ask her to sing it.

"Merciful heavens that must have been awful," Mike replied, laughing as well. "Bet you never wanna sing that one again!"

"No, I'm good on that song," Melanie said.

Davy began to yawn and it was about nap time for him anyway so Melanie stood up to bring him upstairs. She didn't notice Micky had crawled over and was sitting right by her feet. When she went to walk to the stairs she tripped over him and went flying. She did her best not to fall so as not to crush Davy, but this resulted in her trip-running all the way across the room. Luckily she was able to turn herself around just before she crashed into the wall. She hit her back pretty hard, but at least Davy was ok. Melanie, however, was breathing hard and on the verge of crying.

"Holy shit," Mike cried, jumping to his feet. "Mel, are you ok?!" When he got to the other end of the room he saw that she had tears in her eyes. "You're crying! Where does it hurt?"

"Mike," Melanie whispered. "Take Davy, but calm down I'm ok. I just need a minute." She handed Davy off to Mike and sat down on the floor; holding her head in her hands. "I can't believe that just happened. I didn't even look down. That was so stupid. I could have hurt him really bad, or worse!"

"Babe," Mike said, sitting down next to her on the floor. "You gotta calm down. It was just an accident. Davy's fine." Micky and Peter also made their way over when they saw how upset she was.

"I don't even know how I was able to turn in time." Melanie said, shaking her head as tears began to stream down her cheeks. "Mike, I could have killed him. If his head hit the wall the way my back did.."

"But it didn't," Mike interrupted. "There's no sense harping on what could have been. Just be happy that Davy wasn't hurt and just watch your feet next time."

"Mama, cry?" Micky asked, plopping into her lap. At the same time Peter came up and gave her a big hug.

"No be sad, Mama." Peter said. "Don't like Mama sad."

"I'm ok, boys," Melanie said, hugging them both. "Just got a little upset for a minute, but I'm ok now." Melanie smiled, but still felt her heart pounding in her chest. This little incident scared the shit out of her.

"Come on, Davy," Mike said, standing up. "Let's put you down for your nap and let Mama catch her breath." Mike had become much more comfortable with Micky and Peter calling them mama and papa. He and Melanie had even gotten into the habit of call each other mama and papa when talking to the boys. Melanie thought it was adorable.

When Mike came back downstairs Melanie had calmed down and was helping Peter and Micky build a tower out of blocks. It was pretty tall, but then Peter decided he wanted to be Godzilla and knocked it down while letting out a loud roar.

"Did I just hear a monster in the living room?" Mike asked.

"Me!" Peter shouted. "I a monster! ROOOAAARRR!"

"Oh man, what a scary monster!" Mike cried in play terror. "Babe, we better get outta here!"

"You're right!" Melanie cried. "We better run away!"

"No!" Peter squealed. "Just me!"

"Wow, that scary monster was you all along shotgun?" Mike asked. "You sure fooled me."

"Me too!" Melanie added.

"Monster!" Micky yelled.

"Uh oh, Mike," Melanie said. "We've got another one!"

"Don't worry, Mama," Mike said in a heroic voice. "I'll save you!" He picked Micky up by his ankles and held him upside down.

"No, Papa!" Peter cried. "Micky!"

"Oh, well why didn't ya say so?" Mike said placing Micky back on the floor. Micky giggled with glee.

After the monster game was over Mike and Melanie put Micky and Peter down for their nap and cleaned up the living room. Melanie prepared Davy's bottle while Mike went up to get him. He didn't want him to cry and wake Peter and Micky. When he returned he placed Davy in Melanie's arms so she could feed him.

Before Melanie even got a chance to give Davy the bottle he had latched onto her shirt. Mike turned and saw this before Melanie had a chance to do anything.

"What the hell is he doing?" Mike asked, sounding a bit upset. "Davy, get your mouth off of there. You're too damn young!"

"Mike, relax," Melanie started.

"Relax!" Mike interrupted. "How can I relax when my friend and bandmate turned infant is sucking on my girlfriends breast?"

"It's not what you think it is," Melanie said. "He's trying to latch on to me to breastfeed. It's a natural instinct in infants." She turned her head to face Davy. "You aren't gonna get anything from there though, little one. Here, try this." She placed the bottle to Davy's mouth; which he gladly began drinking from.

"Oh," Mike said. "Sorry, I just didn't know they did that. Makes sense, though I suppose."

"It's ok, Mike," Melanie said. "You're still learning. This is just like being a real first time parent."

"Yeah," Mike replied. "Three times over."

When Davy had finished his bottle Mike took him from Melanie and changed him. Then he placed Davy on the floor with some toys. He and Melanie sat on the floor as well to watch him. This was the only quiet time they had until they put the boys to bed at the end of the day. Usually they fell asleep not long after so this was their one opportunity to talk about important things.

"Hey, Mel," Mike said, nervously. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure, Mike," Melanie replied. "What's wrong?"

"Well," he started. "Nothing's really wrong. It's just that we're kinda going through our savings a little faster than I thought we would and I really think we need to start thinking about jobs before we're in big trouble."

"Oh, ok," she replied. "What kinda jobs do you think we could get? We would have to work separate schedules so someone would always be here with the boys."

"Well, hold on a second," Mike said. "I saw this ad in the newspaper this morning." He handed her the newspaper with one ad circled in red marker. It was for an all acoustic gig down at the Kaleidoscope. Auditions would be held in a week. The gig would pay $200 and there was a chance for future gigs as well.

"Oh, you're gonna sign up for this?" Melanie asked.

"No," Mike replied. "_We're_ gonna sign up for it. Me on guitar and you singing. I heard you when you sang to the guys awhile back; you have a beautiful voice!"

"I don't know, Mike," Melanie said. "Playing gigs and singing in front of people, that's your bag. I don't think I could do it."

"Sure you can," Mike argued. "Like I said your voice is beautiful and besides you won't be alone. I'll be right there with you."

"I don't know, Mike," Melanie said, panic rising in her voice. "What if I screw up? Or they don't like me. Or I forget the words? Or…"

"Come on now," Mike said interrupting her. "I got faith in you. And we cold really use the money. Then we won't have to work separate schedules and never see each other."

"Well," Melanie said, thinking it over. "I guess you have a point there. Never seeing you would be a stone drag. Not to mention having those three alone." She paused and looked down at her hands for a moment before continuing. "I guess we can try, but we got a lot of rehearsing to do and not a lot of time to work with. We better get started now."

"Yes!" Mike cried, giving Melanie a kiss on the cheek before running to get his guitar. "I knew I could talk you into it! What song should we do for the audition?"

"That's all you, babe," Melanie said with a smile. "I dont know the first thing about picking a song for an audition."

"Hmm," Mike said, trying to think. "How about this one song I wrote before I met the guys. I think your voice would sound perfect singing it. It's called Different Drum."

"Play it and then I'll see what I can do," Melanie replied.

Mike sang the song to Melanie as he played his guitar. She had to admit it was a pretty groovy song. She would have to tweak the way she sang it a bit. She just couldn't do a Texas accent. When Mike was finished he wrote down the lyrics for her and played it again as she sang. As he predicted, it sounded amazing.

"See, I told ya," Mike said with a big grin. "You sounded great! We'll keep rehearsing all week when Pete and Mick take their nap and by the time the audition comes you'll be more than ready!"

"Thanks," Melanie replied, blushing a little. "Let's just hope the judges think so too."


	11. Adventures in Babysitting

**A/N - thanks again to the always wonderful saiken2009**

* * *

The week passed by much faster than Melanie had hoped. It was the day of the audition and she still didn't feel ready to sing in front of judges or an audience for that matter. Her nerves felt frayed and she had to consciously think about keeping herself calm enough not to pass out. It wasn't easy acting happy and content when she felt like she was being torn apart inside. Luckily for her, having three young boys to take care of made it a little easier to forget. Even if it was for just a moment.

Mike and Melanie had packed a bag for the boys the night before. They weren't sure how long this audition would take or how many other bands would be there so they asked Mrs. Filchok to watch them. Mike thought about asking Millie, but as he looked at his three friends he knew Millie would figure it out. She knew her boys too well and Mike really didn't feel like explaining to Millie how Micky had somehow regressed all of their ages. In any case Mrs. Filchok was happy to help; she loved children. Just so she wouldn't be suspicious though, Mike and Melanie told her their names were Mark, William and Robert and that they were Mike's sisters children.

The entire drive to the Kaleidoscope Melanie looked out the window in silence. Mike was beginning to worry that maybe this wasn't the best idea he'd ever had. But he also knew if he could just get Melanie over her fear that she would be amazing.

"You ok?" Mike asked. "You're usually quiet, but not this quiet."

"I'm ok," Melanie said, still looking out the window. Mike knew she was lying, but decided to let it go. He knew what the problem was anyway. Melanie had stage fright. He would be there for her every step of the way, but she had to get herself over this first hurdle. He could only be there to catch her if she chose to jump.

Once he pulled up to the building and parked the car, Mike opened Melanie's door and helped her out before grabbing his old acoustic guitar. He took her hand in his and walked her inside. It was crowded, there must have been at least 50 bands auditioning. Mike started to worry that Melanie wouldn't be able to go through with it after all.

They had to wait for nearly an hour to be called. Mike's nerves about Melanie backing out crept higher and higher with every group that played. Luckily, Melanie surprised Mike by not only getting up on the stage in front of all those people, but knocking them dead as well. The judges seemed to really like them and even some of the other bands seemed to like them. Even in all their practice time Mike had never heard Melanie's voice so clear and so projected. His playing was pretty on point as well and they were both overjoyed with how well it went. Once they were able to make their way off stage Mike couldn't hold in his happiness any longer.

"I'm so proud of you," Mike said, lifting Melanie up and spinning her around. "You sounded absolutely amazing!"

"Thanks, Mike," Melanie blushed. "But I could never have done it without you behind me playing your guitar so flawlessly."

"We were both good today," Mike said. "But we can't let it go to our heads. There are lots of people here and most of them are pretty good. We're just going to have to go home and wait to see if we get a phone call."

"Ok," Melanie replied. "Let's go pick up the boys. I'm starting to miss them."

"Me too," Mike chuckled. "Let's go."

Meanwhile, at Mrs. Filchok's house the boys were making a huge mess. They had been pretty good for the first hour she had them, but after lunch all hell broke loose. Mike and Melanie forgot to tell Mrs. Filchok that Micky and Peter needed to nap after they ate lunch or they would be restless and cranky.

She soon found out though. Micky had successfully wrapped Peter in the curtains. In his efforts to disentangle himself, Peter ended up pulling them down and nearly being hit by the curtain rod. Davy knocked over a carton of milk which splashed all over the kitchen floor. Poor Mrs. Filchok didn't even have a chance to clean it up because Davy began to cry and she couldn't calm him down.

While she rocked Davy to no avail, Micky and Peter had pulled all of the cushions off the couches and were making a pillow fort. They even found a way to open the linen closet and pull down the sheets, that were stacked nicely inside, to use for their fort.

Mrs. Filchok let them play, since at least they were being quiet, which was more than could be said for Davy. The reprieve didn't last long though and Micky and Peter just wanted to go home. They missed Mike and Melanie. This was the longest they had been away from the two since Micky's experiment. They ran out of the fort and cried into Mrs. FIlchok's lap for Mike and Melanie.

Thankfully, there was a knock at the door soon after. Peter and Micky ran to the door as Mrs. Filchok opened it. Peter and Micky wrapped their arms around Mike and Melanie's legs immediately.

"Mama, Papa, missed you!" Peter cried.

"I see that, Shotgun," Mike said, looking around at the mess. "But what did you guys do to Mrs. Filchok's house?"

"Don't worry about it, Mike," Mrs. Filchok said, handing a screaming Davy to Melanie. "Boy's this age are liable to cause messes wherever they go. You better hope Micky, Peter and Davy come back soon to help you. It was rotten of them to leave you two in such a circumstance what with these little ones' parents away on vacation. I'm sure they won't be happy to come home and hear them calling you Mama and Papa." Mrs. Filchok shot Mike a look, but said nothing else.

"Yeah, it was," Mike said. "But they meant well. I hope they'll be back soon too."

"Mike," Melanie said. "Why don't you help Mrs. Filchok clean up and I'll take the boys home and start dinner?"

"Nonsense," Mrs. Filchok said. "I'll be just fine. You two go ahead and get those boys home."

"I couldn't do that to you," Mike replied. "After all the help you've been the least I can do is help." He walked inside and began picking up the curtains. "I'll see you at home, Mel."

"Ok, Mike," Melanie said. "See you soon. Thanks again, Mrs. Filchok!" She walked the short distance to the beach house with Davy in one arm and holding Micky's hand, who also held Peter's. Once inside the Pad she put Davy in his crib and set up some books for Micky and Peter to look at.

"You boys sure made a mess of Mrs. Filchok's house," Melanie said, sternly. "You need to behave when someone is babysitting you so Mike and I can make some money to pay the rent. We don't want Mr. Babbitt coming around and seeing you like this do we?"

"We sorry," Peter said, sadly.

"Be good!" Micky cried.

"Ok," Melanie said with a smile. "Now you boys read some book while I start dinner. How does spaghetti sound?"

"Yay, pisgetti!" Peter cried.

"Nummy!" Micky yelled.

A short while later, while Melanie was still cooking, Mike came home. He gave Melanie a kiss on the cheek before scooping Davy up and sitting on the floor.

"You guys sure gave, Mrs. Filchok a hard time," Mike said loud enough so Melanie could hear him as well. "I don't think we can ask her to babysit again. She just can't handle the three of you and I think she's a little suspicious. She said you guys reminded her of your older selves."

"We can talk about that later, Mike," Melanie called. "We don't even know if we got the gig yet. And besides, dinner's ready."

"Sounds good to me," Mike replied. "I'm hungry, too."

Melanie fed Davy while Mike helped Micky and Peter eat. Then Mike and Melanie took turns holding Davy so that the other could eat. After dinner Mike washed the kids up and the two put the boys to bed. Luckily, everyone was falling deeply into this routine and it was getting easier to get the boys to sleep which meant at least a little more sleep time for Mike and Melanie as well.

A week later Mike and Melanie got the surprise of their lives when the Kaleidoscope's manager called them to tell them they had gotten the job. He would need them to play an hour set the upcoming Friday. It didn't have to be just acoustic either. Mike and Melanie were overjoyed, but unfortunately the mood was dampened when Mike once again brought up the subject of a different babysitter.

"We can't ask Mrs. Filchok again," Mike stated. "The guys nearly destroyed her house last time. It wouldn't be right. And like I said, I think she's starting to catch on that we aren't watching my nephews while my sister and her husband are on vacation."

"What about Millie?" Melanie asked. "You told me she was always good at keeping you guys in line. And she only lives up the road."

"Yeah, she was," Mike started. "But Millie's too smart. She would know who they were right off the bat and I really don't want to have to explain what happened. It's hard enough to believe with the proof right in front of us much less try to explain it to someone who wasn't there. She'd probably think we've lost our minds."

"I guess you're right," Melanie said. "But what are we gonna do? They'll be just as bad for the other neighbors and Mr. Babbitt isn't even an option. There isn't anyone left to call. Unless you want to hire one of Davy's ex-girlfriends to babysit, but that defeats the purpose of getting the job."

"Well," Mike said. "There is one more person I can think of. Her kids are grown and she was able to raise two on her own so she should be able to handle them. Plus, she didn't know Micky, Peter and Davy before so we wouldn't have to worry about that…"

"Who are you talking about, Mike?" Melanie asked, narrowing her eyes. She had a pretty good idea of where he was going, but she hoped against all odds that she was wrong. She wasn't ready for this.

"Well," Mike said, cautiously. "I was thinking of asking your mom. She raised you and your brother all by herself and you guys turned out just fine. Plus she's already got plenty of toys and stuff to distract them with. I can't think of anyone more qualified that we wouldn't have to pay. Besides, she's all alone now that you're staying here. Maybe she'd enjoy the company."

Melanie turned her back to Mike. She thought this was a terrible plan. She wasn't ready to tell him all the things that went on in her house growing up. About how she was the one to take care of her brother because when her father left, her mother became a raging alcoholic. She didn't want Mike to know where she came from. She didn't want her mother to show Mike what a useless person Melanie was. Most of all she didn't want Mike to realize she was right. Melanie was on the verge of tears at this point, but she knew that she would have to go along with it. She couldn't lose Mike, not now. Not when she finally felt like she had a family of her own with a man who at least thought that he cared for her. So she composed herself and forced the tears back.

"Ok, Mike," Melanie said turning back to face Mike. "I'll call her in the morning to see what she says. But let's keep thinking of who else we could possibly call. Just in case she says no."


	12. Gig Night

**A/N - This one is kinda long for me, hope you all like it. Let me know if you do :-) Thanks once again to my awesome beta saiken2009 :-)**

* * *

The night of the gig Melanie's nerves still had not calmed. Even though she remembered the high of singing up on stage she just couldn't shake the stage fright shaking her to the core. They had dropped the boys off with Melanie's mother earlier with only one dirty glance from her that Mike didn't see.

Now they were standing in the club waiting to go on. People were already packing in and it looked like it would be a packed house. Mike held Melanie in his arms as she watched from backstage. He tried to relax her by rubbing her back, but he could still feel the muscles in her back tensing.

"Come on, Mel, you have to relax a little," Mike whispered as he continued the back massage. "Close your eyes and remember how it felt last time. Remember the connection. Remember the music flowing through you." He felt her relax a little under his hands. "There you go. You're gonna be fine. Just enjoy yourself."

"How do you know just what to say?" Melanie asked, turning to face him.

"Because I know exactly what you're feeling right now," Mike replied. "But I also know how it feels to be up there playing the music. There's no other feeling like it in the world. At least none that I've encountered yet."

Melanie smiled at him and soon it was time to play. The pair did even better than they had the night of the audition and the crowd seemed to love them. As it always went for Mike, the show was over before he knew it. He and Melanie packed up their gear and went to collect the money from the manager. He was so happy with their performance that he asked them to come back the next day to discuss future gigs.

As they walked back to the Monkeemobile Melanie was positively glowing and Mike couldn't help but notice how gorgeous her smile really was. It had been a long time since he'd seen her smile so genuinely. He wasn't ready for the night to end.

"You were great tonight, babe." Mike said as he started the engine. "I've never seen you shine the way you did tonight."

"Thanks," Melanie said, blushing. "You weren't so bad yourself."

"Why thank you," Mike replied. "You know I was thinking…" He paused trying to think of the right way to word what he wanted to say. "We haven't had an awful lot of time together since this whole crazy thing happened with the guys and well… since your mom is watching them I thought maybe we could go back to the Pad and spend some time alone before we go pick them up. What do you think?"

Melanie panicked slightly, she really did want to have some alone time with Mike, but she was terrified of what her mother would say if they picked the boys up really late. She was going to tell him that maybe they should just get the boys since they can be such a handful, but when she saw the smile on his face she just couldn't. And didn't they deserve some time together after everything they had been through lately?

"I would love that," she said, smiling herself.

Once back at the Pad, Mike and Melanie sat down on the couch together. It was eerily quiet since this was the first time they had been home together without the boys. Even when they were adults the, Pad was never this quiet. Melanie cuddled up to Mike's side, enjoying the moment. Mike smiled down at her, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her tenderly.

"It sure is nice to know we won't have to run after any disasters for the moment," he said kissing her again.

"Yeah," Melanie agreed. "I can't help but feel like something is going to pop out, or fall, or explode at any moment." They laughed and relaxed into each other.

"They owe us when we figure out how to change them back," Mike said, chuckling.

"Yeah, like a months worth of chores done for us or a vacation," Melanie replied.

"This is kinda like a mini vacation, though," Mike said. "It's nice isn't it? Just me and you."

"Yes," Melanie said, laying her head on his shoulders. "It's very nice."

Mike lifted her chin so that he could kiss her lips again. He set a slow, sensuous pace. Making sure not to seem pushy or forceful. Melanie smiled against his lips and melted into his arms. She kissed him back; her lips moving as gently as his. It was a full lip kiss, no tongue, just enjoying the feel of each other.

After a short while, Mike slowly deepened the kiss. He ran his tongue lightly over her lower lip, seeking entrance. When she parted her lips he tentatively brushed his tongue over hers. She responded eagerly and opened her mouth further; allowing him to explore her mouth and brushing her own tongue against his. When he pulled away she nipped lightly at his bottom lip, startling him. He moaned lightly and leaned back, looking down at her through half lidded eyes.

"Melanie," he said with a gulp. "If you do things like that I'm not gonna be able to hold myself back."

"I know," Melanie replied with a shy smile. "It's just I've been thinking about it since Peter interrupted us that night. I'm scared, but intrigued at the same time. And who knows when we'll get another chance like this."

"You want to…" Mike started, unable to get the actual words out.

"I don't know," Melanie answered. "I just want to spend time with you."

"Why don't we go lay down?" Mike asked, lifting Melanie and himself off the couch. "We'll enjoy each other and just let what happens, happen."

"That sounds good to me," Melanie replied.

Mike picked her up bridal style and carried her back into the bedroom. He kicked the door closed behind him and placed her gently on the bed, sitting beside her. He leaned down to kiss her again, making sure to keep his lower body away from her. Even though she said she wanted to spend time with him he didn't want to make it seem like he expected anything. Melanie placed her hand on Mike's thigh and he jumped under her soft touch.

"Oh god," Mike choked out.

"It's ok, Mike," Melanie said as she continued to run her hand up and down his thigh, teasing him unknowingly. "I've wanted to touch you since last time. Can I?"

"If… If you want to," Mike replied, shakily.

Melanie ran her hand up to the bulge in Mike's pants and lightly brushed her fingers over him. Mike gasped at the touch and suddenly felt as if his pants were way too small. He captured Melanie's lips with his once more and moved further onto the bed so that he was laying down and she was on her side next to him. He moved from her lips down to the soft skin of her neck where he kissed, licked and nibbled until she was breathing heavily in his ear. Melanie's hand froze as Mike sucked on the sensitive skin.

"Is this ok?" Mike asked as he played with the hem of Melanie's shirt.

"Yes," Melanie replied, arching her back so that he could lift the garment off of her. He lifted it slowly, enjoying watching as her skin was bared to him. He ran his fingers over every inch, loving how soft it felt under his callused fingers. When the shirt was fully off he tossed it on the floor and admired the swell of her breasts, still held in her bra. Melanie squirmed under Mike's gaze. No one had ever looked at her like that before. She blushed and looked away.

"Don't do that," Mike whispered. Melanie hesitated before turning to look at him again. "That's better. You're beautiful you know. All of you. But if you don't feel comfortable you can put it back on."

"No," Melanie said. "I'm just not used to anyone looking at me like you just did. Like you can't get enough of me."

"That's because I can't," Mike said with a smile. "I would love to see more of you, but we can stop."

"I don't want to," Melanie replied, pulling him close so she could kiss him again. "Just touch me, Mike." She didn't have to ask him twice. He placed his hands on her sides, brushing them up and down, before wrapping them around her back.

"Can I see you?" Mike asked. Melanie nodded and he unclasped her bra, letting the straps fall before peeling it off entirely. He leaned away so he could admire her bare chest. He gently brushed his hands over her breasts, feeling just how full and soft they were. Melanie gasped at the attention having never known just how sensitive her breasts actually were. She was aching to be touched more and when Mike's thumb brushed over her hardened nipple she couldn't help but let out a small moan. "Do you like that?" Mike asked.

"Yes," Melanie gasped. "It feels good."

Feeling slightly more confident Mike continued to play with her breasts until he felt bold enough to start using his mouth. At the first touch of his lips and tongue Melanie lay down on the bed, forcing Mike on top of her. He continued to lick and suck her breasts before kissing a train down her tummy and ending at the button of her jeans.

"Take them off," Melanie whispered, before Mike had a chance to ask. He slowly undid the button and zipper and carefully worked them down her legs. As he came back up he took in the sight of her nearly naked frame beneath him. He couldn't believe this gorgeous creature wanted him. "Come back up here," Melanie said insistently. He lifted himself back up to the head of the bed, never letting his eyes leave the sight of her naked body.

"I was enjoying looking at you, you know," he said when Melanie lifted his face to hers.

"I know," she replied. "But here I am almost naked and you still have all of your clothes on. I'd like to even it out a bit." Before he could respond she had half the buttons of his shirt undone and was kissing the newly exposed skin. By the time she had the shirt off, Mike was moaning under her delicate touches. She quickly unbuttoned his pants and took them off as well before Mike could distract her.

"Oh my," Melanie gasped as she saw his erection straining against his boxers. She knew he was no slouch when she felt him through his pants, but it hadn't prepared her. "Can I touch you?" she asked.

"Yes," Mike said, grinning at the look of pure shock on her face. "Please."

Melanie lowered her hand to him and lifted him out of the slit in his boxers. She wanted to feel his skin, not more fabric. He felt smooth and velvety, but also rock hard. Wanting to please him fully she tentatively touched the tip of her tongue to his head. When he gasped out sharply she began to lick down his shaft before coming back up.

"Melanie!" Mike cried as she took his length into her mouth. He had never had a girl do this to him before. The feeling was unearthly. He did his best not to thrust himself into the warm, wetness that engulfed him. Melanie did her best to take him whole, but she just couldn't do it. So she used her hand around the base and she worked her mouth and tongue up and down as far as she could go. The combined pleasure of her hand and mouth was almost too much for Mike.

"Melanie," he choked out, lifting her off of him. "You gotta stop."

"Was it that bad?" she asked, shying away from him a bit.

"No," Mike whispered. "It wasn't bad at all. It felt good. Too good. If you keep doing that I won't be able to stop myself from…" he trailed off.

"Oh," Melanie whispered. She was beginning to feel very nervous. She wasn't sure how he was going to fit inside her. _Maybe I could just keep doing what I was doing and save the sex for another time._ She immediately chided herself for thinking that. _Waiting won't change anything._

"Mel," Mike said, wrapping his arms around her. "You're shaking. What's wrong?"

"It's just… umm… I…" Melanie started, not quite able to get the words out.

"Are you scared, babe?" Mike asked. Melanie just nodded, not trusting her voice. "It's ok," he said. "We don't have to go any farther if you don't want to. I'm not gonna make you do anything you don't want to do."

"But I do want to," Melanie replied. "I just don't know how…" She paused before whispering, "I don't know how you could possibly fit."

"Shh," he whispered, holding her close to him. "It will, when you're ready. Let me see if I can get you to relax a little. Is that ok?" Melanie nodded so he hooked his fingers under the waistband of her panties and slowly pulled them down and off. "You're beautiful," he whispered before lowering his mouth to her warm center.

Mike wasn't exactly sure what he was doing and he was more than a little nervous, but he wanted to make Melanie feel good and relax a little. He ran his tongue lightly over her slick entrance, pausing at the loud gasp Melanie released when he touched the small bundle of nerves near the top. Taking this as a good sign he swirled his tongue over it and slowly inserted one finger into her. Even though she was nervous she was still wet with excitement. Slowly Mike worked his finger in and out of her, still making sure to pay attention to the bundle of nerves that seemed to have her writhing beneath him.

Melanie was moaning constantly at this point since every time she let out a gasp Mike made sure to repeat what he did. She had never felt anything like it. Her whole body felt like a coiled spring, ready to snap at any moment. It wasn't long before Melanie cried out as a wave of pleasure she had never known before washed over her.

Mike smiled to himself as he laid down next to her. She was still breathing heavily and her body shone with with the thin veil of sweat that covered her.

"Feeling a little better?" Mike asked, kissing the top of her forehead.

"Yes," Melanie said as her breathing returned to normal. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"I didn't," Mike replied with a chuckle. "I just went off the sounds you were making. I've never done anything like that before."

"Aren't you going to take those off?" Melanie asked, motioning to his boxers that were no longer doing a good job of hiding his arousal.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to go any further," Mike said, scanning her face for any hint of the reluctance that he had seen before. He saw only desire. "Do you want to?"

"Yes, Mike," she whispered.

Mike rose from the bed and pushed his boxers down his legs. He gasped as the cool air touched his aching skin. When he climbed back into the bed he kissed Melanie passionately, making sure she was still fully aroused.

"Do you want to be on top?" Mike asked, not sure if he trusted himself to be able to control the pace.

"No," Melanie replied, blushing. "I think I'd feel too exposed."

"Ok," Mike said, kissing her again. "You're sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," she said again. "Please, Mike. I want you to take me."

Mike's arousal surged as Melanie once again pulled him on top of her. He grasped himself and very carefully he found her entrance. Slowly and gently he began to push himself inside her. He felt himself press against her barrier and as carefully as he could he pushed through it, groaning at the new sensations. Melanie sucked in a sharp breath and clung to his arms and she squeezed her eyes shut against the pain. Mike immediately stopped moving.

"Are you ok?" Mike asked, knowing he was hurting her. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No," Melanie replied through gritted teeth. "Just… give me a minute ok?"

"Sure," Mike said softly kissing her, trying to relax her pain away.

After a few moments Melanie nodded for Mike to continue. It still hurt, but she knew the only way for it to pass was to continue. Mike pulled out and pushed back in as slowly as he could. Building a slow, steady rhythm so that she could adjust to his size.

As Melanie's body relaxed underneath him Mike began to pick up his pace a bit. She was moaning in his ear and kissing his neck roughly, coaxing him to move faster. She cried out as he brushed against a place inside her she didn't know existed. The tingling in her abdomen quickly spread and soon she was crying out his name as she hovered on the edge once again.

"Melanie," Mike gasped. "I can't… I'm…" His words were lost as he felt her muscles contract against him and she cried out his name one final time, letting him know she had found her release. He followed her over the edge, gasping and crying out for her before pulling out and collapsing next to her on the bed.

They laid there for a long time wrapped in each other arms. Enjoying the warmth of the afterglow of their first time. Mike kissed Melanie gently, whispering how beautiful she was and how happy she made him. He had never felt more loved than he did at this moment. He never wanted it to end, but unfortunately the bliss didn't last as long as he would have liked.

"Mike," Melanie cried, looking at the clock. "It's 11:30!"

"Wow," Mike said, stretching his body out on the bed. "I guess time really does fly when you're having fun."

"Yes," Melanie said, allowing herself to giggle a bit at his cliched remark before fully panicking. "But we have to go pick up the boys!"

"Oh yeah," Mike said, sitting up himself. "I nearly forgot about that." He gathered up his clothes and began to dress himself as Melanie threw her clothes on in a whirlwind of nerves.

"My mother's gonna kill me," she muttered as she and Mike ran from the Pad to the Monkeemobile and headed towards Susan's house. Mike wasn't really sure why Melanie was freaking out, but he would find out soon enough.


End file.
